HBH Senior Living has established HBH Group, a new brand that stands behind their group of aged care homes, villages and community services for seniors.
In the 45 years since Howick Baptist Healthcare was founded in 1977, the charitable organisation has grown significantly. From just one rest home and hospital in Howick’s Union Road, HBH now owns and manages several aged care homes, villages and community outreach services.
“HBH Group sits at the heart of our care homes and services,” explains Bonnie Robinson, HBH Group CEO. “As we’ve expanded over the years, our offering has become more complex. The new name reflects this growth and allows us to realise our mission in a fuller way.”
“More than a name change, we have also refreshed HBH’s vision, mission and brand promise to better reflect that our philosophy of care extends to all seniors in our community, not just those living in our care facilities,” she explains.
“Through homes, care and community, our mission is to create opportunities for all older people to live fuller lives, regardless of their circumstances.”
Now called HBH Senior Living Howick Views, the group’s flagship Howick facility in Union Road has expanded in recent years. Today, it offers a state-of-the-art, 97-bed hospital and a 32-bed rest home, as well as independent apartments, a popular day programme for the wider community and respite care for families and caregivers.
Since 2020, HBH has also owned and managed Gulf Views, a boutique, 45-bedroom rest home in Cockle Bay, now renamed HBH Senior Living Gulf Views. “It was an opportune time to update the names of both locations to reflect the expansive views and to help people identify them more easily”, explains Robinson.
“These changes will not affect the excellent, responsive care for which we are known,” says Robinson. “They’re simply another step towards fulfilling our vision of creating more opportunities for older people to age well and live fully.”
One of the key tenets of HBH Group’s philosophy is a belief that all seniors should have a safe, healthy and age-friendly place to live, wherever they choose to call home.
For that reason, the group also shares its expertise with other aged care homes through managed service agreements. The group manages Gracedale, a modern, 36-room hospital and rest home in Mount Roskill, and Shalom Court, a boutique rest home and hospital provider in St Johns focused on delivering personalised, faith-based care in a small, family-like environment.
Lack of social housing for older people in Auckland remains a growing problem, so in 2017 HBH purchased Stevenson Village in Howick to ensure a continued supply of affordable rental accommodation for seniors.
With few other organisations specialising in affordable housing for older people, supply is becoming more and more limited, while demand is increasing rapidly. Stats NZ estimates that the number of people in New Zealand aged 65+ will double within the next 50 years which means the current lack of housing for older people may soon escalate into a major issue, says Robinson.
HBH Group is hoping to provide more affordable rental housing for seniors in the future. “We’re still exploring our options, but we know it’s becoming critical,” says Robinson.
“Auckland is going to reach a crisis point sometime in the next few years and we will unfortunately see more homeless older people, unless we do something about it, and soon.”
For the HBH Group team, fulfilling their mission extends to all seniors in their community, not just those living in their rest homes, hospitals and independent apartments. In 2019, the group established Virtual Village East, a social and support network for east Auckland seniors that offers a range of senior-friendly events, programmes and activities, both online and in-person.
“The concept of a virtual village to connect and support seniors has been very successful, particularly during recent lockdowns, so we’re hoping to expand the network to other regions as well,” says Robinson.
“Our new brand name also enables us to use our experience and expertise to broaden our services to more seniors in more communities – in Auckland and around Aotearoa New Zealand.”
For more information, visit www.hbhgroup.org.nz or contact Bonnie Robinson, CEO, at Bonnie.Robinson@hbh.org.nz.
